Dubai Godolphin’s Brazen Beau will bid to give Australia a third victory in the last 12 runnings of the £525,000 (Dh3 million) Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes, the highlight of the final day’s action at Royal Ascot.
Having amassed prize money of over $1.4million (Dh5.14 million), Brazen Beau comes into the race with some strong form having won three of his last four starts, including the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap at Flemington, Australia on his last start on March 14.
Trained by multiple Group 1 winning handler Chris Waller, Brazen Beau will run in the colours of Ontrack Thoroughbreds syndicate, despite being acquired by Godolphin in December last year, in keeping with the deal of sale.
He faces 14 speedballs including fellow Australian hope Wandjina, who represent top trainer Gai Waterhouse.
“The horse is exactly where we want him to be, he has put on weight … and hence for the reason for stepping up [his work],” Waller told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We are very happy.”
Brazen Beau will hope to follow in the footsteps of former Australian sprinters who have discovered Royal Ascot success, including Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast, Starspangledbanner and Black Caviar.
Also lining up will be Mustajeeb, who is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
Already a Royal Ascot winner when successful in the 2014 Jersey Stakes, Mustajeeb landed the Group 2 Greenalnd Stakes at The Curragh last month.
Another Irish-trained contender is Due Diligence, who was runner-up in this race 12 months ago.
Wesley Ward, who on Wednesday won the Queen Mark Stakes with Acupaulo, saddles Undrafted who is owned by star American football player, Wes Welker.
The Diamond Jubilee Stakes is race three in the Sprint division of the QIPCO British Champions Series, preceeded by the Commonwealth Cup on Friday and followed by the Darley July Cup on July 11.
